"This is Temporary. We will be back." - Chatting with Actress Jemma Jane!

It is my great joy to introduce to you Jemma Jane.  Born in England and raised in Australia, this amazing actress has performed in the Broadway National Tours of The Play that Goes Wrong (truly of my favorite plays I have seen in the last 10 years) and Bullets over Broadway. She has also performed regionally at The Ogunquit Playhouse, Star of the Sea Theatre, The Zenith Theatre, Manly Musical Society, and Internationally with IGN Australia. Recently, Jemma has entered the world of voice-over work which adds another amazing outlet for this talented actress.

I can truly attest that whatever genre Jemma tries, she will truly excel. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to interview this talented, multi-faceted artist! 

How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a stage performer? 

I’m not sure that I remember a time when I didn’t want to perform. When I was little, my dad would set up a video camera for my sister and I, turn the view screen around so that we could see it, and we would spend hours just creating scenes, not that we would have called it that at the time. My dad is a singer, and my sister is an actress too, so I think it was always something I loved; the evolution more came for me in terms of exactly how I wanted to perform. I danced as a kid, but I remember sometime in my teens, realizing that music theatre existed; somewhere that I could sing and act as well as dance, and that sounded like much more my thing. So, I took voice lessons and acting class, and the goal didn’t really change again.

Though I always had performing as my number one, I also have a great passion for animals and their conservation. I actually got my Certificate 2 in Animal Studies from Taronga Training Institute in Sydney while I was still in High School which included working as a trainee zookeeper, so that was always a second love of mine and something I considered as a career as well. 

Are there any mentors in your life who truly helped you become the artist you are today? 

I’ve never really had any mentors in the field; I think I’ve had teachers along the way that have helped me to create myself as a performer, but those have been very transient. I think for me, it’s always been more about finding works or people who inspire me for a time. We are all built from our influences; humans, that is, not just performers. In the same way, I think we all take little bits from our inspirations and learn what we can from work that affects us or makes us excited. 

We are living in some unprecedented times in the world. For all artists (especially actors) it is definitely a time of uncertainty. What has your everyday routine been like during Quarantine and what are some things you do to keep your spirits up? 

Keeping your spirits up in these times is an ever-evolving beast. I was actually on Tour with The Play That Goes Wrong when everything started to shut down. As performers, we are used to adapting. We are used to life out of a suitcase and not working for often long periods; but when you do book a long contract, you expect to have some sense of stability for a least that set length of time. To have that stability suddenly severed and to have everything you’ve been working on disappear, it’s tough! For me, it’s helped to keep busy. I’ve taken up knitting! (Something I have never done before) I’ve been learning a language, making masks, and trying to keep active. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to quarantine with my boyfriend for some of this time, so we’ve been doing whatever we can to keep entertained; from making a 90’s bowling alley in the living room to throwing a Christmas in July.

But, I think it’s also important to acknowledge that sometimes, we don’t want to be productive; we don’t want to work out or use our brains or be creative, and we just need to lie about and play video games. That’s fine too. I think we all have to try to listen to what we need on any given day; whether we need to force ourselves off the couch or luxuriate in lethargy. 

You just recently began voice-over work after being a part of The Broadway National Tour of The Play That Goes Wrong. Two parts: How was your time on the road and how are you enjoying voice over work so far? 

I loved my time on the road. The Play That Goes Wrong was actually my second National Tour, my first being The First National of Bullets Over Broadway; so, I knew what I was getting myself in for. Life on the road has many challenges, but I personally find that I really enjoy it. I like to travel, I like to play new theatres and find the best coffee shops in towns across the country, and this time around, I liked to revisit some of my favorites and even discover places I had completely forgotten about! On more than one occasion, I would get to a city that I could have sworn I had never played, only to suddenly be swamped with memories of a nightmare hotel or a fantastic opening night party which I may have never otherwise remembered! I was also so excited to be in Wrong; I had seen it on Broadway with the original company and creators, and I remember thinking that it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen on stage. It is a great pleasure to take something across the country that brings joy and only joy to just about everyone who sees it. 

My journey as a voice-over artist has been a rollercoaster! With live performance at a halt, I had no choice really but to find some other way to work, so I simply had to figure out a way to make voice over, an industry which I had just about no experience with, happen. There was a learning curve. When you become a voice-over artist and audiobook narrator, you are essentially starting and running your own small business. I had to build a ‘sound-booth’, find a place to create and access the work, and learn a whole new language; the language of sound editing! This was all new to me, so it was a challenge. It has also been quite empowering, however, to realize that I can do all these new things, and I can learn what I need to learn. After the initial challenges, performing voice-over has been very exciting and freeing in so many ways, and I’m enjoying it! In theatre and film, I am limited in terms of what I will feasibly be cast as. But when I am narrating a sci-fi novel, I can find myself portraying an eighty-year-old wizard or a Russian spy one moment and the sixteen-year-old Queen of a fantasy realm the next, sometimes in the same chapter! This is something that I have been really enjoying about the voice-over world, and I look forward to exploring even more! That’s not to say that I’m ruling out ever playing an eighty-year-old Wizard on film; a woman can hope. 

What advice would you give any aspiring artists in these challenging times? 

I think it can be so hard to be an artist always but especially when you are between gigs. In times like this, when we are stuck ‘between gigs’ for an unknowable length of time and the thing for which we are passionate as well as skilled and trained is taken away, it can be hard to remember why we do what we do. For some people, remembering why can mean watching performances that inspire them; for others, it means creating work. Every now and again, I have to get myself into my closet and just belt out some of my old favorites. Mostly, I have found it helpful to remind myself that this isn’t forever.

This is temporary. We will be back because the world needs us, and when the arts do come back, I don’t want to be doing anything else.

Check out Jemma's talent reel here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj3QrlkvmZw